Raccoon Feeding Tradition Might Have Run Its Course

July 24, 2000|By BRITTANY WALLMAN Staff writer

FORT LAUDERDALE — Some hear about the raccoons by word of mouth.

Others just happen past Hugh Taylor Birch Park, at the corner of Sunrise Boulevard and State Road A1A, and are swarmed by the largest congregation of raccoons they've probably ever seen anywhere, let alone in an urban area, along a six-lane road.

It's like a spiritual experience for some of the visitors, the breath of wildlife in a paved environment. But as a tourist attraction, the evening raccoon spectacle breaks every health and safety rule there is.

Drivers consistently stop in the roadway to gawk. Or they block the adjacent fire department's doors. There are no fences, no supervision, no one to ensure the raccoons don't have rabies or distemper or diarrhea-causing parasites. A mere scratch can convey rabies to a human, health officials say.

That's why it must end, city and state officials said, agreeing to combine a new ordinance, strong enforcement, education and likely some raccoon relocation to effectively, finally, end a locally entrenched custom.

Tourist attraction

"The stories abound that tourists have fed raccoons down at Birch State Park from the earliest memories of people down at the beach," said Assistant City Manager Bud Bentley.

"I understand it's even in travel brochures for Europeans," said Howard Rosen, environmental administrator for the state health department.

The news is sure to disappoint. Wednesday night, a night like any other, locals and tourists stopped by to shoot photos or to stand amidst the aggressive raccoons, which will nibble on an open toe or claw on a person's legs begging for food.

"Get away! Get away!" screamed a young teen as raccoons flocked to her. She escaped across Sunrise Boulevard.

Meanwhile, in 15 minutes, more than 20 cars and some bicyclists and pedestrians came and went. At one point, four vehicles sat idle in a traffic lane while cars sped up behind them honking. The cars sat immobilized while six raccoons peeled a dead but unidentifiable animal off a traffic lane to eat.

"Guys!" yelled a woman later from a passing car, "Don't feed the raccoons! They end up coming in the road and getting killed! Please don't!"

Most who show up have cameras in hand, but the raccoons are looking for more than that.

"Feeding wildlife is prohibited," reads a sign, citing State Statute 258, FAC, 16.D-2003171B. But it's not true outside the park, officials admit, and that's their problem.

City commissioners agreed Tuesday to create a city ordinance banning raccoon feeding and to have it enforced. They'll also tell hoteliers and restaurateurs to stop sending tourists there. And they'll likely relocate some of the raccoons, which flock in numbers of 50 to 90 looking for handouts, said park manager John Frosbutter.

But when the feedings end, so will the attraction. The raccoons will stop coming out.

"They're not there to see people," Frosbutter said, "they're there to get fed."

That means an end of a tradition, one that's sentimental for some.

Rabies precautions

"It's so nice to be able to come here, as much madness and chaos as there is, and see a piece of nature," said Shawn Hall, who drove out Wednesday night from his motel on Cypress Creek Road just to see them. "It's a nice thing. And if I'd brought some potato chips, I'd probably feed them."

"It's nice," said Mirna Clemente, who was visiting from Brazil. "It's my first time seeing this kind of animal. Will you take a picture of us?" Then she and Catia Franca stood amidst a swarm.

Rosen said anyone scratched or bitten by a raccoon should see a physician and undergo rabies treatments, unless the offending animal is caught, killed and tests negative for rabies. Treatment no longer requires shots in the stomach, but it's unpleasant nonetheless.

Broward County has had only one case of raccoon rabies in recorded history, in 1968, Rosen said. But because the species has a high incidence of rabies in general, with many cases in Palm Beach County and a recent case in Miami-Dade, Rosen said they should be considered dangerous and possibly rabid unless proven otherwise.

Rest assured, Frosbutter said, that even under this plan, some raccoons will always be around.

"We would hope they wouldn't be congregating at the roads and the fences outside the park," he said, "but they would be seen in their natural environment and setting, foraging throughout the park."

Brittany Wallman can be contacted at bwallman@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4541.